Intimacy

"You ask me for intimacy,"
Marie was telling her husband
of 22 years, Clem — and,
unavoidably, the therapist
and four other couples in the room —
"the same way you ask
if I'd like croutons on my salad."

She spoke slowly, deliberately,
each word chipping out of her mouth
like an ax striking wood.

— Laurie Abraham, New York Times Magazine article Aug. 12, 2007